# Providers (/docs/user-guide/providers) Elmo tracks which AI answer engines mention your brand. Most AI search traffic comes from **ChatGPT** and **Google AI Mode**, and neither exposes a public API. You can approximate their responses by calling the underlying model APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, OpenRouter) with web search enabled, but that's not the real consumer UI — scraping the actual surface is usually closer to what your customers see. ## Recommended scrapers [#recommended-scrapers] These cover the ChatGPT + Google AI Mode experiences that drive the bulk of AI referral traffic. | Provider | Why | Rough cost per prompt/month\* | Sign up | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | **BrightData** | Cheapest solid option. Battle-tested dataset collectors for each major AI surface. | \~$0.45 | [get.brightdata.com](https://get.brightdata.com/67h1b7h0shcn) | | **Olostep** | Powers most large-scale AI visibility trackers today. Good reliability at scale. | \~$2.25 | [olostep.com](https://olostep.com/?ref=elmo) | Monthly estimates assume Elmo's default cadence of \~5 runs/day per target across 2 surfaces (ChatGPT + Google AI Mode). BrightData's list price is \~$0.0015 per evaluation (5/day × 30 days × 2 surfaces ≈ 300 evals/mo × $0.0015 ≈ **$0.45/mo per prompt**); Olostep runs roughly 5× that. Actual cost depends on volume tier and provider promos. The sign-up links above are Elmo's affiliate links — they give us a small kickback and cost you nothing extra. ### BrightData [#brightdata] ```bash BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN=... ``` Supported scrape targets out of the box: ``` chatgpt:brightdata:online google-ai-mode:brightdata:online perplexity:brightdata:online copilot:brightdata:online gemini:brightdata:online grok:brightdata:online ``` You can also pass a custom dataset id as the version slug: `chatgpt:brightdata:gd_abc123`. ### Olostep [#olostep] ```bash OLOSTEP_API_KEY=... ``` Supported scrape targets: ``` chatgpt:olostep:online google-ai-mode:olostep:online google-ai-overview:olostep:online gemini:olostep:online copilot:olostep:online perplexity:olostep:online grok:olostep:online ``` Olostep models always use web search, so the `:online` suffix is required. ## Direct model APIs [#direct-model-apis] These hit the provider API directly — cheaper per token than scrapers, but they don't represent the actual ChatGPT / Google AI Mode experience. Use them alongside a scraper when you want extra Claude or OSS model coverage. | Provider | Tracks | Cost per prompt/month\* | | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | **Anthropic API** (`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`) | Claude Sonnet / Opus / Haiku | \~$4–5 per tracked model | | **OpenAI API** (`OPENAI_API_KEY`) | `gpt-5-mini` with web search (ChatGPT-like, but not the real UI) | \~$2–3 per tracked model | | **Mistral API** (`MISTRAL_API_KEY`) | Mistral Small / Medium / Large, optional web search via the beta Conversations API | pass-through | | **OpenRouter** (`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`) | Any OpenRouter-hosted model (Claude, Llama, Mistral, etc.) | pass-through | \*Direct-API estimates also assume \~5 runs/day × 30 days = 150 calls/mo per tracked model, with typical prompt/response lengths. Prompt length drives real cost. Example scrape targets: ``` claude:anthropic-api:claude-sonnet-4-20250514 chatgpt:openai-api:gpt-5-mini:online mistral:mistral-api:mistral-medium-latest:online claude:openrouter:anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 ``` OpenAI/Anthropic/Mistral/OpenRouter entries all require a version slug as the third segment. For Mistral, append `:online` to route through the beta Conversations API with the `web_search` tool; without it the request goes to the standard chat completions endpoint and no citations are returned. ## DataForSEO (optional) [#dataforseo-optional] `DATAFORSEO_LOGIN` + `DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD` enable Google AI Mode scraping via `google-ai-mode:dataforseo:online` as an alternative to BrightData/Olostep. ## Recommended setups [#recommended-setups] **Starter (scrape the two that matter).** Pick one scraper and you're done: ```bash BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN=... SCRAPE_TARGETS=chatgpt:brightdata:online,google-ai-mode:brightdata:online ``` or ```bash OLOSTEP_API_KEY=... SCRAPE_TARGETS=chatgpt:olostep:online,google-ai-mode:olostep:online ``` **Starter + Claude.** Add Anthropic direct for cheap Claude coverage: ```bash BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN=... ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=... SCRAPE_TARGETS=chatgpt:brightdata:online,google-ai-mode:brightdata:online,claude:anthropic-api:claude-sonnet-4-20250514 ``` **No scraper (APIs only).** Cheapest option, but you're tracking model APIs instead of the real consumer surfaces: ```bash OPENAI_API_KEY=... ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=... SCRAPE_TARGETS=chatgpt:openai-api:gpt-5-mini:online,claude:anthropic-api:claude-sonnet-4-20250514 ``` ## SCRAPE\_TARGETS format [#scrape_targets-format] ``` model:provider[:version][:online] ``` * `model` — the AI surface being tracked (`chatgpt`, `claude`, `google-ai-mode`, `gemini`, `perplexity`, `copilot`, `grok`). * `provider` — how to reach it (`brightdata`, `olostep`, `openai-api`, `anthropic-api`, `mistral-api`, `openrouter`, `dataforseo`). * `version` — required for `openai-api`, `anthropic-api`, `mistral-api`, `openrouter`. Optional for scrapers (pass a BrightData dataset id here). * `:online` — append to enable web search. Required for most scraped models since the live UIs always search. Entries are comma-separated.